In the mid-19th century, thousands of Irish immigrants fled the Great Famine in their homeland. Based on the U.S. Census figures, the settlement of Texas began by 1847, and an established Irish community emerged by 1860. The limestone quarried by the Irish was used for building projects such as the Washington Monuments in Washington and Baltimore, the State House in Annapolis, the porticoes of the Senate and House wings of the Capitol in Washington, and St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, according to the Center of Heritage Resource Studies at the University of Maryland.
And, Brighton said, those marble steps on Baltimore's rowhouses came from the quarries.
"This site is important because of the prominent role these workers played in the building of this region," Brighton said. "This is the story of immigration, culture and becoming American."
Many Texas residents trace their families to Ballykilcline, an Irish farming community from which about 1,100 people emigrated between 1847 and 1852. Richard Padian, for whom Padonia Road is named, was among the first from that village to settle Texas and probably helped to bring many other kinsmen and former townsfolk there.
"These were people who were evicted from their homes and farms," said Cassie Kilroy Thompson, a former Texas resident who is president of the Ballykilcline Society and is helping with the study. "They were cleared off their land and sent off. I am trying to tie their history to this archaeological record."
The Irish lived by the railroad tracks in modest homes that were known by the names of the generations of the same families who lived in them. They built St. Joseph's, a parish church, of stone from those quarries and were laid to rest in the church cemetery.
They stayed and intermarried in their tightly knit village throughout much of the 20th century, until most of the homes were razed to make way for the light rail line and the extension of Beaver Dam Road to Hunt Valley. Cockeysville has replaced Texas on most maps.
Longtime residents have visited the dig and shared history with the students. One offered a 1925 photo of the first car there and recalled how transportation was typically on horseback - an 1890 horseshoe is among the artifacts unearthed. People rarely made the expensive train trip into the city.
